Beyond the Platform
by EntangledWorld
Summary: When Harry is lost between Platforms 9 and 10, he meets the Malfoys and their son, Draco. This starts a whirling new friendship and love and kindness that Harry wasn't ready for but would gladly accept.
1. Chapter 1

After an unceremonious dropoff at King's Cross, Harry Potter was utterly and completely confused. The ticket clearly said Platform 9 ¾, but all the conductors and passerbyers that he asked had no clue. Now Harry started to panic. The clock's hands inched closer and closer to 11 o'clock, but he was no closer to finding the seemingly nonexistent platform. As he turned the pillar in hopes of finding the platform, he overheard a conversation between a familiar blond boy and his parents.

"So many muggles, father," the boy said. The father tilted his head.

"Fully packed, these filthy-"

"Hush, Lucius! Not here. Not now. What would Draco's future friends think if they hear you?"

"They'll be proud that they managed to find a fine pure-blood boy such as Draco!"

As the two began to argue in hushed whispers, the blond boy made his way over to Harry.

"I remember you! You were at Madam Malkin's. My name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. I don't think we were introduced properly. I'm afraid I think we got off on the wrong foot. I imagine I said some atrocious things. I do apologize."

"Do you always talk this formally?" Harry blurted, then mentally whacked himself for being so forward. And besides, he didn't have any plans on making friends with this pompous boy.

"I don't know what you mean. I've always talked this way. I have been taught to do so by my parents."

"Right," Harry said. "Well, are all your opinions based off of your parents?" He remembered that the three words that the boy had uttered the most in the robe shop were 'My father said.' And based on the conversation that his parents were having, it was obvious that they had some strong opinions.

"I, well, I suppose so," Draco said, losing some of his arrogant confidence. He lowered his eyes, realizing how stupid he must have looked. For some reason, this compelled Harry to get closer to Draco. Call it intuition. Call it childish ideation. But something about Draco made Harry want to get to know him better.

"I think our goal for the school year should be forming your own opinions." Harry said smiling shyly. Draco looked up. Seeing that Harry wasn't joking, a small, tentative smile appeared on his face.

They were smiling at each other when the Malfoys realized that their son had made a new friend. Breaking off from their fierce exchange, they watched as their son started to talk to the boy, much more animated than they had ever seen him.

"I don't think that this is a good idea," Lucius said. "What if the boy is a muggleborn? Even a halfblood won't do! We can't have our boy contaminated!"

Narcissa hushed him once more. "Our boy is making friends. Why don't we celebrate that?" And with that, she made her way over to the pair. Shaking his head, her husband followed.

"Draco, dear. Do fold your collar down. It makes you look uncivilized. And who is your friend here?"

"Mother, this is- I never asked you for your name!"

"Draco Malfoy. How many times do I have to tell you? Names are everything. They establish connections and build up your reputation. I-" Lucius was silenced, yet again, by Narcissa's firm hand.

"Ah, well. I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you all."

"Harry Potter? The Harry Potter? You're the boy who lived! Now, you must be tired of questions, but I must ask you. How did you survive the killing curse?"

"I-I really don't know. I was a baby when it happened. Am I really _that_ famous?" Harry became increasingly worried. Lucius and Narcissa were giving each other incredulous looks. Draco looked like he had just won the lottery. He had thought that the people he had met at Leaky Cauldron were just wacky and old. But Draco and his parents were certainly neither.

"You certainly are a household name," Lucius said, sounding rather predatory.

"Now, Draco. When you arrive at school, make sure you owl me right away. I need to know that you got there safely. This train's been here since I went to Hogwarts. It might break down," Narcissa said while fussing over Draco's collar once more. As she was saying this, Harry felt a deep longing that he had sworn to himself that he would never feel. Living with the Dursleys had discouraged him for ever hoping for a mother, but the exchange made him want one more than ever. Noticing the tears that Harry was desperately trying to hide, Draco tentatively put his arm across Harry's shoulder and led him towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

"I bet you don't know how to get to the station," Draco said casually.

"Yeah. I've been worried that I would miss the train," Harry said.

"Now, this is my first time too, so bear with me. We're supposed to run straight at the wall."

"I'm sorry?"

"Run into the wall. Here. I'll show you."

Lucius and Narcissa watched as the two boys ambled towards the barrier while awkwardly dragging their luggage behind them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Lucius spun towards his wife. "Harry Potter! Our Draco's friends with Harry Potter! Can you imagine the benefits? The fame that would bring him?" Lucius muttered to his wife.

"Look how cute they are. Don't corrupt them. And besides, they remind me of how you were when you were a first year." She smiled mischievously and walked towards the barrier with a surprisingly childish giggle. Shaking his head at the turn of events, Lucius joined her.

**So, this story was a based post from I believe Tumblr that I found on Pinterest. The version I found was on the user Memo's post (As of the moment their profile picture is a rainbow) among many other amazing posts. Basically the post was someone's brain child of Harry meeting the Malfoys instead of the Weasleys and how the Harry Potter books would have turned out if that. It was interesting, obviously AU and super fun to write. I was having a bit of trouble with the style of talking that each of the characters are using, so if you have any suggestions in getting the voices right, feel free to let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

They made it in time. Draco and Harry had elbowed through hoards of people to get on board, including a very Scottish family, a very angry grandmother, and a very alarming number of red hair. "Weasleys," Lucius had sniffed. They pushed themselves into an empty car and sat down, breathless. "Do you think it will be like this all the time?" Harry asked, looking a bit windswept. "I think when we are seventh years we would get the hang of it," Draco replied.

"Seventh years? That's forever!" Harry said, slumping in his chair. They were laughing and joking around when a tall boy with bright red hair timidly opened the car door.

"I'm sorry, but the other cars are full. Anyone else sitting here?" Draco, looking slightly panicked, said, "Yes, yes, someone is-"  
"No. No one is sitting there." Harry gestured to the seat while giving Draco a dirty look.

"Thanks. My name is Ron Weasley and- Wait, I know you! You're a Malfoy! Oh, my father hates you, you know," Ron said.

"Well, my father said that Weasleys all have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Draco spat back, eyes blazing. Ron was about to retort when Harry jumped in.

"Guys! I don't- Can we not fight?" Ron and Draco both stared at him and said, simultaneously,

"Well, my father said-"

"Exactly! Your father this. Your father that. I don't know what's going on between your two fathers, but why does that matter?" Harry sighed. Ron and Draco mercifully stayed silent. "Is this what Hogwarts is like? Everyone picking fights with each other simply because of what his 'father said'? If it is, I want out."

"You mean, you don't know what Hogwarts is like? Didn't your parents tell you? Are you one of those muggleborns? Blimey, my father loves muggles."

"I'll have you know that this here is Harry Potter. And we are above y-"  
"Harry Potter? Fred and George said they saw you on the platform. I thought it was one of their jokes. Do you really have the, you know, _scar_?"

"Why does it bloody matter if he has the scar or not?" Draco snapped. As Ron fell into a guilty silence and Draco fell into an arrogant one, Harry decided to take initiative.

"I think we started off weirdly. Let's start over."

"I don't think starting over will have any impact," Draco said.

"My name is Harry Potter. What are your names?"

"Harry, you know both of our names. I don't-" When he noticed Harry's glare, Draco sighed and muttered, "My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."  
"And I'm Ron Weasley. Now what?" As Harry scrambled for the right thing to say, he was saved by the trolley.

"Anything off the trolley?"

Ron muttered something about a sandwich and Draco said that he wasn't allowed to eat sweets while looking longingly at the cart. Harry stood up and, being entirely clueless to the variety of sweets and treats, bought as much as he could carry as Ron and Draco looked on incredulously, Ron looking back and forth from his sandwich to the pile of sweets in Harry's arms.

"Go on then, help yourself," Harry said. He realized that this was distracting the two boys from the fight and that was maybe not the best method, but he was tired of arguments and resolved to figure it out with a full stomach and slightly more amiable companions.

"Oh no, I couldn't. I have a sandwich. It's corned beef. She always forgets I hate corned beef."

"May I eat that then?" Draco asked, almost shyly. Ron looked at him in shock.

"You? You want my mother's sandwiches? They're rather dry, and they have corned beef."

"Yeah. I never had anything my mother made for me. She doesn't really cook. Does it taste different if your mother makes it for you?"

"I mean, I guess. It just feels homemade, you know?"

Ron gave Draco his sandwich, which Draco ate with an unexpected gusto. As they swapped and tasted different sweets and cards, the boy with the grandmother timidly opened the door. "Have you seen my toad?" he asked. When the three shook their heads, he said, "I'll never find him. He keeps getting away! Well, if you see him..." and left, muttering to himself.

"Why does he want to find his toad? I would love to lose Scabbers," Ron said, glaring at his rat.

"Oh, good. You heard of it. Neville's frantic, so if you find the toad, you should give it back." Harry, Ron, and Draco turned towards the speaker. She was a small girl with an impressive mane of bushy hair and huge front teeth. "My name is Hermione Granger. Who are you?"  
"Ron Weasley."

"Draco Malfoy."

"Oh! You're a Malfoy. I guess you have some similarities with your father. Lucius Malfoy is your father, no? He is on the school board you know."  
"Yes. I imagine I do know," Draco said with a forced smile.

"And who are you?"  
"I'm Harry Potter."  
"Are you? I've read about you! You are in many notable books. I've done some extra reading to prepare myself. I had to. No one is magic in my family. Now I know everything there is to know about Hogwarts and how it works." Ron muttered 'Know-it-all' and Draco coughed 'Mudblood' under his breath. Harry glared at the two of them.

"Well, I better get going. There is a toad to be found. We're getting close. You should get changed." Harry could tell that Hermione had heard their comments by how clipped her words became. He smiled apologetically as she spun away.

"I've done some extra reading? Why would anyone do anything like that? That's like doing homework on breaks!" Ron exclaimed.

"She's a mudblood too!" Draco said, his eyes widening. Ron flinched at the word, and carefully said, "Draco, no one uses that word anymore. It's outdated and, frankly, it's very cruel."

"Well, my father-" Draco started, then shook his head. "My father is very old-fashioned." At that, Harry gave himself a congratulatory fist pump and hastened to start changing into his robes.

**I tried making them as similar to their character as possible, but I'm afraid that I made them a bit OOC (Out of character for those who are confused about internet abbreviations... I'm with you)... If there are any suggestions n how to make them in character, feel free to tell me!**


	3. Thank you

Hey all!

The story will now be updated on archive of our own. Sorry for any inconveniences. It is under the same name with the user PetrucioandtheRose

Thanks,  
EntangledWorld


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